The draft of a long-anticipated law designed to better safeguard people's civil rights has been submitted to China's national legislature for its second review.

The draft tort liability law, if passed, will serve as a basic law to protect people's civil rights and ensure they can get redress if their rights are harmed. Zheng Chenguang takes look.

Reporter:
The latest draft of China's tort liability law covers compensation for almost all kinds of civil wrongs, including harm caused by defective products, traffic accidents, medical accidents, environmental pollution, internet abuse and even harm caused by animals such as pets.
Li Shish is a legal expert with the National People's Congress.

"The tort liability law mainly works to solve major disputes, which are closely linked with people's interests. It takes into account our country's current stage of economic development so as to rationally set compensation standard and scope. Based on our actual situations, the law has also used some experiences of foreign countries."

The draft stipulates that victims can ask for compensation of more than their actual losses if companies continue to produce products after they know they are defective.

Also, the law offers clear-cut provisions on how to decide liabilities in medical disputes and environmental pollution.

Wang Liming, dean of the Law School of China's Renmin University, says the law focuses on issues relating to compensation.

"The spirit of the law stipulates once there is an act of harm, there will be compensation. Its basic doctrines are to provide the utmost redress to the victims. As our country's social safety net and social insurance coverage still leave something to be desired, the tort liability law will become the first law that people resort to in an infringement case. "

The draft tort law was submitted to the national legislature for its first reading in 2002 as part of the draft civil law. The legislature later decided to review it as a separate law due to its complexity in contents.

Zheng Chenguang, CRI news.